Blades And Bucklers
by Neiroe
Summary: Homura's Diary Part 1 A new timeline starts, and the cycle continues. Homura wakes up in same bed, in the same hospital, on the same day. Seems like some things are just set not to change. Or at least, that's how it seemed when Homura woke up, and decided it could wait another five minutes. (heavily abbreviated - -)
1. Chapter 1

Light.

It's not a bad thing to wake up to. And it certainly shouldn't have been harming anyone. Unless you had been very recently in the gargantuan, pitch black shadow of a Walpurgisnacht.

Then your eyes -along with your mind- might need a few seconds to adjust to the sudden lack of unspeakable horrors. Though the slight pain was much preferable to the alternative.

 _This new timeline... this will be it._

Of course, that's what I had said everytime. I had said it so often it should have lost any possible meaning. But I always meant it. And I always acted on it. And it never is.

The chance of this timeline succeeding is one in some amount of thousands that I can no longer count, a number I doubt I could recall without falling into despair immediately.

That is, of course, of no matter now. Repeats of the same dark thoughts. They could wait. What couldn't wait, however, is Madoka.

A new timeline, that will bring new challenges and variables to the tables, that I will need to account for if I actually plan to succeed. So I will need to get out of bed soon to adjust.

Fighting a Walpurgisnacht is (un)surprisingly tiring, and my leg felt like death. I hadn't expected anything new, and my eyes were shutting themselves before I could process it.

And... That was a huge mistake. At first, I couldn't see anything. I had initially panicked, that I had slept until night, losing an entire day to establish myself. And then my vision had crept back in, and I could tell what woke me up. Shouting and chaos, on this floor and the floor below. Even still, I could tell I had overslept.

I had not been expecting to be asleep for as long as I had. According to the tiny bedside analog clock that I could barely see, it had been five hours. And I could barely see the clock because the power had gone out.

This changes just about everything. I knew some nice people on the floor below, where I used to stay, on life support now. But I'm sure they have backup generators or something. They're all fine, I think. But it was time to get to work. I could feel bad for people later.

It should be easier to slip out now. With a lot of the inner sections near my room shrouded in darkness, no one would see the 'poor heart disease girl' running around.

Getting out was surprisingly easy in the dark. A well worn path, in memory lane. I didn't see many people on the way out. Mostly young nurses running around, and apparently a few doctors were in the basement searching for the backup generator. You'd think this place would be a bit more organized. I don't really know what happened, and I didn't get the chance to find out.

I was split between finding out what caused this completely new variation, and checking on the Kaname's when I heard someone shout behind me.

"Homura!?"

I froze in the middle of the road I'd been walking across when I was enveloped from behind in a hug that took me off my feet. I had never really been in this situation, and didn't know how to react at all. I went limp and almost capsized both of us.

It was then that I was able to meet the assaulter. According to the comically large ID on her hospital lanyard, her name was Sanae Orihara, and was (apparently) an interim nurse 'I' had befriended in the hospital, who was now tasked with helping me adjust to my new school life.

"You know you weren't supposed to leave without me!", she chastised "Especially in an emergency like this power outage!" Sanae pulled me in closer, "Besides, _I'm_ the one who knows the way to your apartment." I grimaced a bit at the audible smirk in her voice. I guess I'm not getting out of this, then.

"Yes ma'am."

"Now c'mon, the bus stop's this way," she lead me away from the hospital and to a bench with a small overhang, where we sat for the next 5 or so minutes. If we had looked behind us at all, or sat a small bit more to the right, we would have seen the familiar symbols spray painted on the walls of all the nearby buildings, or maybe we could have looked up a bit higher, and seen all the birds move to the roof of the one unmarked building- the hospital. I doubt Sanae would make anything of it, of course, but if I had known back then, this would be a completely different story.

It didn't take long for the bus to arrive, but the time was spent in an uncomfortable silence after about a minute of talking. "Finally! My back was starting to hurt on these metal seats," she broke the silence, "You comin'?"

She extended her hand to help me up, seeming to notice how different I had been acting today. She helped me out of the seat, and we got on the bus. Sanae fiddled with her lanyard for a bit, and put it bus route was the same, through the market district, and to the older district of town, with more stone architecture and less stores, the few there were much more specific.

Cobblestone paths and walkways replaced sidewalks, and the roads were better maintained than the newer city in places. Cars were less common here. Sanae and I got off at the second to last stop, the apartment complex where I'd spend the next month- no. The rest of the school year. This timeline was it. It had to be.

"Hmph!", she huffed, breaking me from my thoughts, "I've never been over here before. It's pretty nice here! I was always nervous around all that glass."

"Wow, Homura. Your place is pretty nice." Sanae plopped down onto one of the long red couches in the living room, after having checked all the other rooms. The fridge wasn't stocked, but we were going shopping soon. Same model of computer in the bedroom. The same house, with the same pendulum swinging above us as we sat and talked.

Of this whole day, this was the first time I had really seen Sanae. She had short her hair, light and bright, tied back into a braided bun. Her eyes were both a striking cloudberry and deep ming, with red glasses, a bit like the ones I used to was alot taller than me, even sitting, and wore a dark blue windbreaker jacket with an orange jewel on the lapel over jeans and a shirt that identified her as nursing staff. Her postures were very overtly friendly and relaxed all the time, but her head seemed to be on a swivel in public, and you could see her eyes screen everyone she passed. Interesting, at the least.

"Hey, Homura, want to get the food now, so you can really get settled in? I don't think either of us have eaten all day."

"Oh, uh... sure." On cue, my stomach growled and reminded me of how badly I'd overslept compared to normal. Maybe that's a sign though. This won't be a normal timeline.

"Great! I make a killer omurice, you know." She called back, already en route to the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, yeah, the omurice _was_ pretty killer. Sanae had taken me to the local farmers market to get some fresh, healthy foods, and to a convenience store to get some _less than_ fresh, healthy foods. When we got back to my place, it was nearing dark. After she made the omurice, Sanae talked with me for a bit, and said she would be back sometime next week. That's wasn't much time, but I would just have to bite the bullet if I wanted to get through this strange timeline.

I don't much care for how my body decided to adjust to the changing schedule. I'm not sure where it got the idea, but my body had decided that I didn't need any sleep tonight because I had slept earlier at the hospital. I had been up for about three hours now, and all I had accomplished was tossing about in bed, and finding out the egg cycle of adélie penguins. There's a lot to find on Wikipedia, especially when you have nothing to do.

And I had _nothing._ I had a computer yes, but after the adélie penguin fiasco that I detest even mentioning, and will _not_ describe, I knew I wouldn't be touching it for a while. Just seeing the power button makes me feel dirty now. I had never been up late often in my life. Never saw the appeal. But that night, looking at Mitakihara from my window - breathtaking; absolutely beautiful. I could see the modern city very well from my high second floor window, pinpricks of artificial light on a backdrop of midnight blue and black, cars and trucks going back and forth on the few roads I could see clearly. It reminded me of what I was also protecting.

I think that's good every once and a while. To get a sense of perspective on what you're doing- on what you're _really_ doing, by making the choices you do. Sometimes, that perspective would scare me. But it's always worth the fear to remind yourself and reaffirm why you're doing this.

I'd say that I was doing this for allot of reasons now. At first, I had a single minded goal. Save Madoka. My scope had since expanded. I never much acted like it, but this city had become my home. As each timeline went by, and I tried more and more ways to reach her, I grew to know this place. The patterns and lives of people across the city. Where certain people would be on certain days. Every person who returned positive for cancer this week. What tie the owner of the carpet store wears on Tuesdays, and how many people would be on the highways asking for money and food. After doing all this, I guess it's impossible to not want to protect this place. To not want to help it's people. Or maybe it's just some sense of... Ownership? I had never been particularly territorial about this. God knows I was perfectly willing to share this place with some four other magical girls. Even if some of them weren't.

Whatever reason I'm still here, or want to be, I have to protect this place. I made a promise, and this is part of that promise now. Nothing I can do to change that now, or even a "perfect" timeline- Madoka safe, Sayaka uncontracted, and Mami and Kyoko help me take down Walpurgisnacht before it reaches the shelter- That would eat away at what little soul I have left after all this until I inevitably reset again.

Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist. Self preservation was never part of the promise- alot of stories would have had much happier endings if I had just left it to that. Or maybe they did. There's no way for me to tell what happens to the timeline I leave when I reset. I hope it's nothing bad. Or at least nothing worse than what I leave behind.

I don't know how I fell asleep, but I woke up in my bed, under the covers. My clock read 6:00, which is when I usually wake up. I stayed up much later than usual, which did not bode well for my day. That had been at most five hours of sleep. I think it was a good sign though. My body resisted change. Years of "training" wouldn't falter that easily. You have to take pride in _something,_ every now and then.

I had alot of time lost to make up for from yesterday. The floating picture frames were empty, so I had to upload all of the Walpurgisnacht images and documents again. There was already ramen, so I was ready to house Kyoko again, if I had to. I also had something to set up in the closet. I usually kept them hidden away somewhere, where people wouldn't know about them. Five cloth dolls, sewn by my mother. One of me, and four animals: a red bull, a blue jay, a lioness, and a pink butterfly. It hadn't been symbolic of anything at the time, but I was always glad I kept them. I wasn't very sure I'd ever see her again, so those meant alot.

I didn't have any guns right now, I realized. It broke through my other thoughts and pushed itself to the forefront of my mind. I had never noticed it before, but realizing that had always made me feel pathetic and naked. Subconsciously, I shrank back into the closet. "I don't have any guns..." Was the first thing I said that day.

Of course, there were two easy fixes for that, only a few kilometers away. I already knew what the headlines would be.

 _ **MYSTERIOUS POLICE ARMORY THEFT IN KAZAMINO**_

 _ **MITAKIHARA POLICE ARMORY: GONE IN AN INSTANT? The Shocking Security Tapes**_

They were always the same article, neither of them could provide any new or different information. The police were always stumped, but would get more- and that's how I got most of my extra ammo and weapons. Items do carry over with me from timelines, but I throw away all small arms before Walpurgisnacht comes, and use up everything else in the fight. Which had reminded me- I hadn't placed the C4 wells, or the shock charges yet. But that was always later, so I just kept it in mind for the time being.

That had taken a good three hours from the day, but I could then focus on the important things. Reconnaissance. One of the most important parts of establishing myself in new timelines. I usually used the computer, but was at that point, still refusing to touch it, for perfectly valid reasons, of course. But I _did_ have a phone.

Most of the news sites were talking about the power outage yesterday. No one was able to track down what exactly caused it. The Mitakihara Power Corporation said an employee made "a grave mistake" and "has been released from service". It was fishy, but could be excused. I hadn't gotten the map yet, but I had the entire city memorized at this point. It was really only for the benefit of the others, and they weren't quite involved yet. I already had my school clothes.

And then an article caught my eye.

 _ **MYSTERIOUS SUICIDE CHAIN IN THE PARK?**_

 _Maybe I_ should _go hunting. I have the gear now, and I'm not sure I want to dip into any reserves just yet._

And so, I was out of the window and into the grey world on my way to the park. There's almost always something there, in the park. Or maybe it should be someone? Whatever I call them, they shouldn't be there. I could fix that. 

_I'll save who I can._

Sorry to say this, but FFN actually does have problems loading the text in places. Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about Madoka. While the power outage was going on, I didn't know what area it would hit, and I was kind of nervous at the time. Until yesterday, when I was able to check in on the Kaname's, I had really been on edge.

Madoka hadn't been home. At the time, that had set off more red flags than anything else in this timeline. She was always home that day. To make extra sure, I had circled around the property. I saw Tomohisa tending to his garden, so I had figured nothing could be too off, but the rest of that day was extremely nerve wracking. I had spent most of it pacing a groove into my bedroom floor.

Seeing her at school that day, when I walked into the classroom for the 'first' time, was extremely relieving. Saotome called me to the board a few times to see what I knew, and I did the problems without much thought. I could probably multiply polynomials in my sleep now, after learning that unit so many times.

Gym had been incredibly easy as well, I knew all the activities well and with my magic, it was no feat to make a couple "new" school records. Where the real challenge would begin, was break time. The same gaggle of girls surrounded me, and asked the same few questions: "What do you use to get your hair that straight?", "Where did you transfer from?", "Were you in any clubs at your old school?", "Are you going to be joining any of the sports teams here?"

They were always so nosy and invasive, it felt like they could see right through me. Their eyes never lost that piercing judgmental look, but as time wore on, they became simply annoying. A tiring business that grated on the nerves, but I answered their questions as simply as possible, holding out until Madoka came over. "Magic" and a wink, "A catholic school in Tokyo.", and two "No."s. I used to be scared by all of this attention. I had never really had friends before this. They were all so enthusiastic to know me, I thought they liked me. But no. They didn't care and never would. They might as well have been the same person, how they all act the same, prying into anything interesting, and discarding it the moment something new got their attention.

"Hey. Uh, sorry, but I was just talking to Ms. Saotome, and she said I'd need to bring Homura to the nurse's office..." came a girl's voice from behind.

"Oh." They didn't seem to want to leave, but wandered off sluggishly back to their seats to talk. I got up from my desk, and extended my hand to my "mysterious" savior. Madoka, the nurse's aid for our class shook it, "Hello Homura," and smiled. It was good to see her smile again. Last time, not that it matters much now, she almost never smiled-with a good reason, that also doesn't matter much now.

Another reminder that this was a fresh start. A clean slate-the future is what you make of it. Unless you have infinite futures, which I did. _Not that you ever make much of them_. An aggravating thought, but I pushed it back and smiled at Madoka. "Hi. You're the nurse's aid for this class?"

"Yeah. It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Madoka!" She lead me out to the hallway, "If you don't mind me asking, what are you receiving medication for?" Her voice lowered in pitch as she spoke, like she was ashamed of the words. She always was so polite. I didn't really even have a condition anymore, so I didn't mind.

"Oh, uhhh, I have a heart disease," I said as casually as possible, "But I'm fine right now. It's just to make sure it doesn't... act up." I kept walking behind her, but at a faster pace. We were approaching _the hallway_ , and I wasn't sure if I was entirely ready. She didn't have a ring, so I could tell already she hadn't contracted yet. I was glad to know that. It narrowed down what I would say. I'd definitely make some changes here. If I had learned anything from last time, this moment would define the timeline. I pulled a bit ahead in preparation, and made the left turn into the hallway.

"Madoka," and turn, "Do you value the life you currently live? Do you treasure your friends and family?" Like I didn't already know the answer.

Surprised by my actions, Madoka blanched a bit before responding "O- of course I do!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I would never lie about something like that. Why are you asking?" She was shrinking back a bit, worried that something was wrong, and undecided on how bad it would be. "Then, please, leave it to me this time. You don't understand now, but it will make a lot more sense later. Please." She had no idea what I was talking about, but could tell how serious I was; I could tell my eyes had hardened. Threatening. Angry. "I think I can find my own way to the nurse's from here. Thank you." I turned again and started walking again.

"W-wait," Madoka called from the middle of the hallway "What are you talking about?"

"You'll know, sooner or later." I made a silent prayer to any listening god that I my hint wasn't too strong, and that she wouldn't just write me off as crazy. Of course, no matter what she thought of me, she would come to understand much sooner than that statement would imply.

I made it to the nurse's office just fine.

 **THE CONVERSATION, ACCORDING TO MADOKA**

"And then she just walked away."

"Really? That's odd."

"UGH! I hope she doesn't think being a 'mysterious transfer student' is cool," Sayaka (probably) slammed her head into the table, "It's so moe it hurts!" They had been, of course, discussing what I said to Madoka. "I mean seriously," Sayaka continued, " 'THIS TIME'. What does that even mean?"

"W-well..."

"Oh," Hitomi pitched in, " Maybe you've met before, and you just don't remember it." 

"Well... I saw her in a dream."

"Really?"

"Ha! Hahahaha... Oh man, good one Madoka!"

"D-don't laugh! I'm serious! I really did see her in a dream!"

"Whatever you say Madoka."

"Sayaka, no need to be mean about it. She's obviously not feeling well.

"You're right. I'm sorry." 

"GUYS!"

The rest of the school day had passed without a hitch, and Madoka and friends were in their little corner talking. Planning to go to the mall of course. Interestingly enough, it seems like I had business there as well.

AN: Unlike Wattpad and AO3, FFN can't load unicode, so you get -_-.


	4. Chapter 4

_'Madoka! Help me!'_ Kyuubey called out telepathically, trying to save himself in what would be desperation, if he had had emotions. He knew I could hear him, but at this point, obviously didn't mind. "Not so fast!" _STOP._ Take a few steps, attack. _START_. I had to catch him next time, or he'd get to the vent. That would never end well. A few extra steps then.

 _STOP_. _START_.

Surprisingly accord to plan, I struck the side of the incubator, and blood erupted from the side of it's head. I ran up to the twitching, smiling body on the floor. _Bang_! Always a good feeling. It wouldn't take Madoka this time. It would be busy cannibalizing when I got the spot I usually found Madoka. Or maybe, since I had cut him short, she wouldn't be coming to the mall's basement. I'd have to wait and see. She'd be there in two minutes if Kyuubey had actually got to her, or not at all.

Of course, a call for help was something Madoka could never ignore, even if it was only once. In two minutes, she got down to the basement, confused and worried. I dropped from the chain in the ceiling I had been waiting on. "Oh, I said, and tried to look uninterested, "Hi Madoka." For someone who had just seen a girl drop from the rafters, she wasn't much surprised at all.

"Homura! Did you hear that call for help too?" She looked around, still very worried about whoever had been in such desperate need down here. She lowered her voice, "Was it you?" It, of course hadn't been me. Still refusing to lie to her, I said as much. "No," I fliiped my hair, "I had heard it too."

"Oh. Okay then... Do you know who was?"

"No." Kyuubey is part of a hivemind, so he's _technically_ not a who. Or at least how I see it, so I still didn't lie. "Want to look for it together?" I suggested, knowing we likely wouldn't find Kyuubey for the rest of the day, or at least until Mami appeared. Whenever that would be. "Oh, of course! But Homura," Madoka paused as she took in my admittedly strange magical girl outfit, "What are you wearing?"

I looked down to hide my blush, and tried to hide my shield behind my back. "W-well... It's-"

"HYAAA!" A Sayaka Surprise Attack™ from out of nowhere drenched me in a white foam, that smelled suspiciously like asbestos. Even without Kyuubey in the scene, she obviously really enjoyed pulling this kinda stunt. "Madoka! Run!" Sayaka threw the fire extinguisher at me, which would be a very bad idea in an actual fire, as far as I know. I caught it, and she switched into some kind of karate stance in front of me, with an incredibly confident smirk, and a determined glare cast over her eyes.

Her glare became much less determined when she realized who she had drenched, and her stance. "Nice to meet you," I replied, still holding the fire extinguisher, "I'm Homura Akemi." While I had responded as plainly as I could, Madoka was very clearly disappointed and very angry.

"Oh, heh heh," Sayaka laughed very weakly. She knew she was in trouble, "Hi Akemi. I'm Sayaka Miki. You can just-"

"Sayaka! What were you thinking?! Why would you do that? And then telling _me_ to run?!" Madoka was absolutely seething, and obviously hadn't been putting much thought into her outrage. Not to imply that she was being unreasonable. They were all the same question, and all perfectly valid.

"W- well... I was-" 

"Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean you should hit them with a fire extinguisher!"

"I never said I don't like her! I just- well- I," Sayaka fumbled her words like this for a bit longer before I cut in. "Maybe an apology would be in order?"

"O-OH! Sorry about that! I promise it was totally an accident! I just... Well, I followed Madoka down here, and when I saw someone jump down from the ceiling, and I thought about how she had been hearing someone call for help and I... Well, I just kinda figured that you were responsible..."

"So it wasn't an accident?" I couldn't help but rub it in a little bit. She _had_ just covered me in foam. Sayaka shrunk back a little to make herself a smaller target from Madoka's glare, when she noticed my outfit too. "What are you wearing?"

"Foam."

"No, I meant th-"

 _ **FWOOSH**_

The labyrinth took shape around us, transforming our environment into a distorted and strange version of itself, and I could already see Gertrud's familiars creeping in on us from the edge of my vision. I was able to clear myself of the foam instantaneously using compressed air from the shield and grabbed the hands of the two startled girls infront of me.

"Run!" I rushed forward and the other two followed somewhat involuntarily as I steered them towards a familiar circular area. "Homura, what is all this?!" "Do you know what's happening?" I didn't answer them, and kept running until I reached the center of the circle. "Homura!" "What's going on!"

I assumed a defensive stance around the two girls, facing down the closest familiars. "Homura, what are those?" Scanning the crowd, I repositioned between the two closest groups and reached for my shield.

"Aaaah!" _Madoka_. I wheeled around as my worry overrode all my other senses to see a pair of scissors from one of the farthest back familiars zooming towards our group. Sayaka had noticed at the same time I did, and jumped in front of Madoka. I drew my gun to take it out of the air when I heard a different gun fire, far above me. _Calvary_. The scissor zipped away harmlessly to our left.

Immediately taking note of my Magi outfit, Mami called down from her high perch, "Having trouble?" With another musket at the ready, Mami jumped down as a scissor came at us again, from the closest group I was supposed to be tracking. I fired a shot at it the same time as Mami did, and the scissor dropped harmlessly to the ground, stuck in one place by the cancelled out bullets.

"Not at all," I called back, shooting down another pair of scissors arcing towards us, "Just trying to get these civilians out of here!" She had landed on the ground with us by now, and was taking shots at the familiars in the crowd. "Think you can get them out of here while I handle the rest of these guys?" I had, of course, knew Mami could. But, being Mami, I also knew she would much rather show off.

"Why don't ... immediate area? ...plan." I couldn't quite hear her over the din, but knew what she was about to do, and brought out a shotgun. "Follow me!" I made sure both Sayaka and Madoka heard me, and charged forward at low ready until I reached the inner perimeter of the circle, when I blew another pair of scissors out of the air. I stopped for a second, but when a group converged on us, it made sure I knew how important it was to keep moving somewhere as dangerous as this. I blew a few cotton balls off their stems and took another pair of scissors out of the air when one about twice the size of the rest came out of no where.

Luckily, it seemed to miss us because of it's towering height. Or at least, it didn't see us until the pipe bomb flew into it's face. It noticed us and bent down to take a swipe, which put it's head right infront of the bomb. It wouldn't be making trouble for anyone else, at least. We made it out of the circle completely fine somehow, and Mami, who had been watching my six, took off into the air right as we turned around. An entire field of rifle muskets and dueling pistols in the air around her, Mami fired the one gun she had in her hand, and rained death on the encroaching familiars.

"Woah..." Sayaka was clearly in awe, but Madoka was more taken a back by the full scale of the danger she had just been saved from. Stepping back and taking in the area, Madoka asked, "Where are we?"

"At the mall, of course... Kinda."

When the last familiar had been wiped up, the labyrinth slipped away, and the world returned. "See? The mall." I chuckled a bit at my own, admittedly bad joke, and turned to see Mami walking towards us. "Well," I called out, "Aren't you going to chase it?"

She stopped a few feet away from me and looked over Sayaka and Madoka. The two in question both greeted her happily. "Oh my God! That was so cool!" "Wow! Thanks for saving us!" I had been here before, of course, and was thoroughly unimpressed. "Thanks."

Mami stepped back a bit to separate from the two and said, "No. I thought maybe you'd want to take it. You were here first, I take it?"

"I guess, but you had obviously been tracking it. Besides," I gestured to the two girls excitedly chatting away a few feet from us, "I have to get these two out of here."

Mami understood, and decided to accompany us. "I know the direction it's heading. There's no way it could hurt anyone out there." I knew better, of course, but that was tomorrow, so I let it be. Sayaka and Madoka introduced themselves, and Mami did in kind. "I'm Homura." Mami wasn't simply accompanying us, of course, but bringing us back to her apartment. Standing before the large MitakiHouse building, I could see her second floor window, and knew why she had brought us here. I didn't protest much about coming in, even though I didn't want to come. This talk would be essential.


	5. TEA

_**AN: Please note that this is the only chapter of the book with an actual title so far.**_

Arriving at the second floor of the MitakiHouse complex, Mami led us to her door, all black except for a middle plaque with the characters 鞆絵. Tomoe.

As she led us into the interior maisonette, I scanned the homely living room for anything noticeably different, but the room was just as scarcely decorated as ever, the only thing new being a few stuffed animals that were highly variable and hadn't appeared last timeline(but had appeared the one before that, and the one before that, skipping about three times it hadn't appeared in the middle).

"So..." Mami kind of blanched. It was clear she had been preparing what to say the who way here, but it was also apparent that she had forgotten most of it as she went along with whatever speech she had been planning. "Well... What you girls saw in there today," she paused slightly and huffed, my silent presence making her somewhat uncomfortable, "That was a witch's labyrinth." She waited to make sure the girls were following her before continuing. Or, attempting to. Apparently, she had "forgotten her manners", and went off to get some tea from the kitchen.

Sayaka and Madoka filled the air with small talk about the apartment's interior, and what Hitomi was probably up to. I passed my time looking out at the city from the window. Seems like that was becoming a habit for me. Actually, I could see Junko's office building from here. Towering skyscrapers shared the real estate high in the air, and it was hard not to see all the incredible buildings of the Mitakihara business district.

"Mami's place really does have a great view, huh." Madoka and Sayaka had moved up to the window with me, and were looking out at the city too. "Wow! You can see my mom's work from here!"

"Really," I raised my eyebrows, "What does she do?"

I never got to 'find out', because it was then that Mami came back into the room with a tray of tea and small cakes. She also had a full speech this time, but that wasn't really something you could see. "I've got the tea now. Hope you all like Earl Grey." D̶i̶s̶g̶u̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶. "That'd be nice." I sat at the table in a repulsed state of complacency as I drank my Earl Garbage.

"Well I'm sure you three- you _two_ \- have a lot of questions about what you saw today, in the mall. Like I said earlier, you were inside of a witch's labyrinth today. A witch is a creature of darkness and hate, manifested into the real world. Witches create labyrinths as a place to hide from the world, a domain of their own control, which they lure humans into so they can kill them. Witches are actually the cause of a lot unexplained suicides and murders all over the world. What you saw today was just the edge of the labyrinth, and some familiars. Witches are much stronger and much more violent than they were.

"It's the job of people like me and your friend-Homura, right?- to fight witches. We are magical girls. My friend, actually, could explain it alot better, but I don't think he's here right now."

"Yes he is," I gestured over to the windowsill, where Kyuubey was quietly listening in on Mami's speech, "Over there." The cabbit hopped down and walked over to the table. "Hello. Nice to meet you, Akemi Homura, Miki Sayaka, Kaname Madoka. I am Kyuubey." His high pitched voiced echoed into our heads, and the shock was visible on the faces of the girls, who had never spoke to him before. "I do not like to waste time, so I will put it directly... Kaname Madoka, Miki Sayaka, I would like you to become magical girls!"

I could feel my soul twisting in it's gem as he said the words, and my eyes narrowed involuntarily. I knew I couldn't confront Kyuubey about this directly, so I would just have to combat the idea instead. "No." Firm and commanding, I was off to a good start. "There is no need for such drastic action." Kyuubey tilted his head to the left and decided that he would hear me out. Madoka, Mami and Sayaka were already resigned to being interested in what I would be saying. "Mami has been successfully holding this town for many years now, and is clearly able to continue doing so for an extended period of time. Along with that fact, I am here. As a magical girl, I am fully capable of defending this city as well. There is no reason to assign such a dangerous job to two entirely untrained and inexperienced girls." I paused and made sure to raise my voice a bit. "Unless, of course, there is some bigger threat that can't be handled normally.

"At this time," Kyuubey responded calmly, "No there is not a larger threat to the safety of Mitakihara. But witches are still out there, and only two people would still not be able to stop them all. Akemi, think of all the lives more magical girl's would be saving." He was trying to paint me into a negative light with that one. 'You don't want to save people?' 'You want more witches out there?' 'You want innocent civilians to die?' All these things he was implying were untrue, but luckily, I was able to reflect them simply enough.

"Aren't you asking the wrong person?"

Or maybe not.

"You were the one who decided for them earlier."

Actually, it was.

"No, Kyuubey, I was speaking for you. I won't allow it." I turned to Madoka and Sayaka on the other half of the table and looked back. "I won't allow you to get them killed." I set my cup of tea down, and Madoka decided to pipe up. "Homura, is this what you meant? Earlier, when you said to leave it to you? Did you know this would be happening?" I'd had a feeling that she would bring that up here, and responded simply and honestly. "I did not know exactly what would be happening or when, but if you value those around you as you said you do... Then yes. Please leave this to me."

And Madoka saying something must have inspired Sayaka to talk too. "Well-Hey! So what _did_ you know would be happening? And you can't just decide these things for us! If I want to become a magical girl, you have no right to stop me!" There she went. She had already romanticized the idea. Separated it from the horrid creatures of death she saw so much earlier today. So in response, I did my best to separate her from that romanticization.

"Sayaka Miki. If you become a magical girl... You will die. Or worse. That is a guarantee, and that is our fate. Mami, who you already admire so much, every day tangles with death. Any monster you saw today could have easily taken off her head, as well as yours." I stood up. "If you join him and contract, you will either die a terrible death in the labyrinth, or a slow one just as painful outside of one. What I knew would happen was that you'd encounter a witch or labyrinth."

Kyuubey settled into a little coil on the table like the snake he is as Sayaka stood up. "And how do you know that, transfer student?" She was on the defense now, and was angry at me for what I was saying, resorting to her oldest and weakest insult to me. "I know that _because_ I am a magical girl. _Because_ I have been for a long time. _Because_ I've been taking the risks I mentioned."

Kyuubey saw his opportunity and sprang up into a normal sitting stance. He was a hunter, and would never give up an opportunity to strike. "Actually, Homura, I don't ever remember contracting you."


	6. Chapter 6

"You don't remember what?" Sayaka asked for herself and Madoka. Kyuubey had never said contract before, and the Potential Puella Magi were very confused. I alleviated their minds. "A contract is what you make with Kyuubey to become a magical girl, and it is exactly how it sounds. A contract, binding you for the rest of your life. Fight and die for him, against terrible monsters of hate and destruction. In exchange, you get one wish. That is his contract."

Madoka was still quiet, puzzling over our encounter in the hall most likely, but I could see her eyes flashing at the mention of wishes. Sayaka's interest was much more animated and obvious. "You can grant wishes?"

Kyuubey tilted his head innocently. "Only if you contract."

"Any wish?"

"Yes."

"If you contract," I said, "You will be placing yourself in a constant and incredible danger." Mami stood.

"Homura? Why are you so opposed to them contracting? I understand that it can be dangerous at times, but I'm here! If they wanted, surely I could keep them safe as well. And you're here now! You seem perfectly capable." I am perfectly capable of protecting them all. That's what I was doing.

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. This area has enough Magical Girls in it to keep any witches at bay. There is no need to bring them into this."

"Homura?" It was Madoka, standing up in front of Sayaka, who's eyes had glazed over, t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶f̶u̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶K̶y̶o̶s̶u̶k̶e̶ in deep thought about something. "How did you know something like this would happen eventually? It seems to me like there's a lot that you're not explaining, and that a lot of it ties into why you don't want us to contract. Are you sure you can't just tell us what's going on?" A damning case, as always, from the voice of reason. Madoka was a lot smarter than her grades let on.

"It seems that way because there is a lot that I can't tell you, for very good reasons. Rest assured that you will know in time." I knew she wouldn't be satisfied with that kind of answer, but it was the best answer I had. It seems Mami was also not satisfied with that answer, however, because she spoke next.

"And why can't you tell us?" Mami stepped a bit away from the table. "Why can't you tell us what's going on, and making contracting such a bad idea right now? Is there some higher risk? A different kind of threat? If something's going on, we would need to know." Mami, of course, had a good head on her shoulders and could see right through me.

"You might think you want these questions answered, but I can promise you that there are some things that simply should not be said. It may seem to you that I am alluding to some higher threat..." I let the words die in the air, and switched gears. "There are personal reasons that I don't think I should be sharing this information with you for right now. Please be content that you will know sooner rather than later."

It was then that I realized Kyuubey had been talking to Sayaka telepathically, most likely about the contracting process. She was staring at him intently, and she would open her moth sometimes before shutting it quickly. "Kyuubey? What are you doing?" I turned to face him after I asked, and he broadcast to the entire room this time.

"Sayaka Miki said she'd rather have a private conversation with me." Oh. M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶a̶l̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶K̶y̶o̶s̶u̶k̶e̶.̶ Well, that was her business. "Oh? Did you need to talk to me as well?" Kyuubey tilted his head to the side innocently. I definitely did, but not here. He was always around, so I knew that I'd get the chance to talk to him anyway.

"Maybe we shouldn't be getting into this," I redirected, "and instead, think about what we'll do about the witch we had to let get away earlier." Sayaka turned towards me and gave me a weak grin for getting us out of that potential conversation. Mami grinned tightly and then untensed, smiling widely.

"Of course! Even if they contract or not, it won't matter if we let that witch get away and start killing people!" Mami stood up. "Luckily, if the direction the witch is going in is consistent, I know exactly where it will be. See, the witch is heading through an abandoned section of town right about now. No one actually lives there right now, after the last earthquake forced everyone to evacuate. I don't have my map of the city anymore, but I could probably have marked it to show you all."

"I have a map of the city." I pulled out my second map from my shield and handed it to her.

"Oh! Thanks!" Mami went to her room and got a pen. "Well, this is the mall," she marked the mall down on the map surprisingly accurately," and the witch was heading Southwest, so it should end up here by around tomorrow afternoon!" Mami marked on the map the exact spot that the witch does end up at, where a woman under its influences attempts suicide. Usually we got there just in time to save her. Maybe with this, we could get there before she's ever in danger. That'd be nice. She was right, but there was still one problem I'd had with all of this.

"How do you know when the witch will get to the building, and that it won't change course?"

"Oh. Well that's just a rough estimate. I'd been tracking it for about an hour today and based on how far it got in that time, it seems like it would reach the place by around noon. It didn't change direction while I was tailing it, but if it does, we at least have a good radius to conduct our search within." Mami grinned at me from across the table, proud of her work. Who was I to deny a woman her praise?

"Impressive."

"Why thank you."

"Wow Mami! You're really smart!" "Whoa! Did you memorize the entire map?!" That was Madoka and Sayaka respectively. "Thanks. And knowing the town is pretty much essential to protecting it. Especially alone. Actually, Homura, where did you get this? It's a lot more detailed and bigger than my old one, and I could never find a shop selling them." I got my second map from a yard sale. "I got that map at a yard sale. I've never found a second one like it. So do you think you could use a pencil next time?" That would have been hard to explain if it was marked.

"Oh, sorry about that. Can they wash off?" Mami offered her small apologies, but no, it would not wash off. I would have to rub off the ink and redraw what parts of the map were damaged. The process was long and careful, but the map was very accurate to the current city, and very necessary to my operations.

"Don't worry. I'll figure something out, I'm sure. It's getting late. I should be heading home soon; we still have school tomorrow. Goodnight, all."

I stood up and headed to the door when I heard Sayaka behind me. "Yeah, we should probably go too, Madoka."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Mami!"


	7. Chapter 7

"So, Akemi Homura," Kyuubey sat on my windowsill, "What is it you wished to discuss?" I had made sure to bring the Incubator with me as I was leaving Mami's house. It knowing where I lived did not bother me very much anymore, and it followed me up to my room.

"Incubator."

"Oh?" Kyuubey sounded amused by me showing my hand, and no doubt would have been had the creature possessed emotional capability. He turned away from me and looked out at the rising moon. "Well, it was never a secret."

"You can keep a secret. You can keep them well. I am trusting you with this information that you may share it at a later date." This definitely caught his attention. Kyuubey is an information broker of sorts, now that I think about it. "There is a witch coming. A being of terrible destructive power. At the end of this month, it will arrive and lay waste to Mitakihara, it's citizens, and any neighboring cities. Walpurgisnacht. You are to inform the other girls of this at a later date."

"Really? That is interesting information, but what is to say that it is true? You have no way of verifying this before the witch comes, if it does exist. If Walpurgis is more than a myth, then I have seen no evidence of that. Of course, this is all to frame for the bigger question here." Kyuubey hopped down from the sill and onto my desk. "How do you know this?"

"I have my own sources, and I also have a right to not disclose them. Simply rest assured that this information is true. Soon, you will know for yourself. It is when you know of your own reasoning that I wish for you to inform them." It wagged it's tail and settled down on its paws.

"If you can't disclose... Maybe I shouldn't either? It's not a stretch to assume that you would be able to inform them yourself? It doesn't seem like I have any reason to intervene." He resisted about as much as I expected.

"Listen, Incubator," I stood up and strode over to the desk, "I know why you're here. I _will_ stop you, but you know just as well as I do that withholding this is to the benefit of your cause." Kyuubey stood up at this and started to walk out of the room. "I'll definitely consider it," it turned its head back to me, "Unless there's something else on your mind?"

"Nothing you need to worry about."

With this, Kyuubey left the room and presumably, the house. I sat down on the bed and thought about the exchange. _Telling him this early, showing my hand, may have been a risk. But he would have to find out eventually. It's not very much anything to hide, as if he could do anything with the information. What was that?_ Rustling.

"Kyuubey?"

"Hello."

"What are you still doing here?"

"I can't quite get the door."

 _Yes you can._ "Okay then. I'll be down to let you out." I got a small notebook out from my desk and scribbled down my cell number. It would come in handy in a few days. I went downstairs and Kyuubey was waiting in the foyer, in front of the door. "Hey, can you take this over to Mami while you're out?" I handed down the note and he took it into his mouth.

"Sure. I'll make sure she sees it, at least."

"Thanks."

I opened the door and Kyuubey skittered out into the night. Now he was gone, I'd have to see what he was getting into. I didn't have anything worth hiding, or at least not where he was. When I'd heard the noises, it seemed to be coming from the kitchen. Checking it out, the noise had been a cereal box on top of the fridge being knocked over. At first, that wouldn't have been concerning, but when I went to replace the box, I saw that under it was a piece of paper. Pulling it out, the paper read as follows.

"Dear Sanae

I have completed preparations for the house. I think it looks really nice, and am proud of my work. But I must ask, why is there a large pendulum on the ceiling. It looks a bit dangerous and makes me uncomfortable. Do you think it could be removed, sinc-"

It seemed to have been torn out of a notebook, and had a large portion ripped off. A note to Sanae from someone, presumably a mover or something similar. Unlike most timelines, it seems that this place is paid for and controlled by the hospital.

 _Then where do my parents fit into this? They can't_ both _be dead this time, can they? That would be... That would be unfortunate... I'll have to ask Sanae about this letter when she comes over._

I slid the note back on top of the fridge and righted the box. Walking back to my room, I noticed that in the hall, there was a closet door ajar.

 _How much did he get into?_

Opening the door all the way, the closet was entirely empty except for the shelf at the top, which Kyuubey couldn't have reached. He didn't find anything of value, and neither did I. This would be a minor infraction, so I decided to forgive him this and ask that he cease. But, I also knew that letting him know I was onto him would not be in my best interests when I actually _do_ have to hide things.

I was checking down an opposite hallway when I saw the sky darkening through the window. Checking the time, it was almost nine o'clock. I ran a shower and washed, but when I got into bed, I could not sleep. There wasn't much on my mind, I was sure. I had attempted clearing my head, most definitely, but even with this clarity, I struggled to lay still.

 _Maybe there's something I need to do. What could I be forgetting?_

But then I felt it's eyes on me. While I was pondering forgotten errands, my body finally found it imperative to let me know that the incubators red eyes were gleaming down at me from the window. "What are you doing back here," I let the incubator in through the window, "I thought you'd be at Mami's."

"She sent me back to give you this." He dropped the new piece of paper out of his mouth. It was Mami's number, with a little message under it. 'Call Me 3'. I don't know how funny she thinks she is, but her set could definitely use some work.

"Well thanks. You can let yourself out." I opened the window for him again and he hopped out. I laid back down, but I still found myself tossing, and turning about, dissatisfied. Then I saw it. The computer, sitting on the desk before me. Almost calling me to it. But the shame of the last time I had touched the machine greatly overrode any desire to use it. Or, I had thought so. After the Adelie penguin incident, I was considering swearing off the machine. Sadly, my will was not as strong as I had thought. I would rather not record what I did, but it was an event to eclipse the Adelie penguins in every way.

I went to sleep that night very satisfied and even more ashamed.

I had to throw out and replace the hard drive the next day.


	8. Chapter 8

It was around three when school let out, and the people in our class began filing out of the glass doors and into the main hall. It was earlier that day when Madoka had forced me and Hitomi to 'meet', so when I linked up with their group at the end of the day, there was no confusion.

"So, Homura," Hitomi started, "How did you meet Madoka and Sayaka? Were you with the upperclassmen they met yesterday?" We were on our way through the halls, almost at the front of the building. I took a second to think about how I should answer this.

"No. We all just kind of ended up in the same place there. Mami was passing through, but recognized our uniforms and stopped to talk to us for a bit."

"Oh."

We had made it out the door by then, and at the gate, Madoka, Sayaka and I had said that we'd wait for Mami to get out too. Hitomi understood, and said that she would continue home herself, if that was okay with us. It definitely was. We were waving her off when Mami appeared behind us.

I jumped back a bit as she spoke. "Hi!"

"W-Were you waiting for her to leave?"

She stared for a second, "... No... Anyway, who's ready to get that witch?" She tried to transform the awkwardness of her entry into excitement for their objective, and it seemed to work, because Sayaka, who was slouched against the wall stood up straight. "I am!" She nearly shouted, and Madoka nodded.

"I still don't understand why you wanted to bring them along. You know how dangerous this can get." I had interjected, punctuating sentences with a disapproving glare. Mami's brow wrinkled a bit and she nodded her head.

"I understand you may not like it very much, but they decided to come themselves. Besides, the only way they'd understand what it's like to be a magical girl would be to get some field experience, right?"

"Yep!" Sayaka interjected. They were both right of course, but that 'field experience' never seemed to stop them. Very enthusiastic to go out and 'defend' their friends. Even now, Sayaka was bouncy off the ground with every step, and while she made light conversation with everyone, she couldn't help but raise her voice. We turned off of the school's road, and took the immediate left.

"Come on," Mami called from a small bit ahead, "We can't be late for this!"

"No!"

Madoka cried out. A business woman had been caught in the witches labyrinth on her way home, and being overcome with despair, went up to the roof to end her life. As she jumped, Mami transformed and sprung into action, catching her carefully with her ribbons before setting her gently onto the ground, where Mami was waiting. Examining her collar, she confirmed that yes, this was indeed the work of the witch, and that she must be inside the building right now.

"W-What's going on?" The woman who had fainted on her way down woke up shocked in Mami's arms. "Oh God... I-I..." She started sobbing quietly into Mami's chest as she the Witch's Kiss disappeared and she realized what she had almost done. Mami took to patting her head and cooing reassuring words as she led the woman away from the building. As she got up, she signaled for me to head inside, and our three-man squad marched in, ready for anything. Mostly. Sayaka had found a baseball bat abandoned at a nearby park and Mami had taken the liberty of enchanting it so that it would be able to take down familiars, if need be. Walking up the first flight of stairs that cut through the middle of the empty lobby.

"Hey, Homura?" It was Madoka talking now, and I turned to her, walking backwards to hear her more clearly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know why this part of town is so... empty? It's really pretty out here, but when I look around, I don't see any cars on the roads, or lights in houses. Does no one live here anymore? Some parts of this place look like they're falling apart..."

I thought on it for a bit. I never did quite understand why no one lived in this area anymore. "I'm... Not sure. From what I heard, there was an incident long ago that made it dangerous to stay here, but no one's ever told me what." Sayaka, who was walking with us, bat ready took note of that with a small hum. Her face broke into the smirk it always did before she would say anything stupid, and I turned back around. As we got to the steps, she fired off the joke into the air, leaving our ears ringing and wishing I had brought my earplugs.

"I think that one _actually_ hurt me."

"It wasn't good," Mami called from the bottom of the flight, having snuck up behind us, "But it wasn't _that_ bad." She jumped up the stairs three at a time until she reached us. "Though your timing could definitely use work." She smiled brightly at the group and started walking. We fell into stride and began conversing again.

"So Mami," I started, "How is the woman?" She started to open her mouth to answer, with what I presume to be a good report, a familiar launched itself out of an office door, scissors raised above its head, ready to strike. I paused time and took a few moments to process what had just happened, and what was about to happen. I let my guard down and stopped paying as much attention to the building as I should have. By doing this, I put myself and others in grave danger, and if I didn't react now, while time was stopped, at least one of us would die here.

Drawing my gun, I centered on it's cotton ball head, and unfroze time as I pulled the trigger.

"HOLY SH-" _**BANG. BANG BANG BANG.**_

Sayaka's scream was drowned out as I filled the familiar with lead. Mami had jumped back and drawn her own gun, but by that time, it was already dead. Madoka had just frozen in place. "... I'm sorry. I should have been paying more attention." I apolagized and started walking down the hall. The others fell into step silently, clearly more on edge, as our surroundings changed. We were in the labyrinth proper now.

I pulled my handgun out and kept at low ready as we descended further into the Witch's home. Like we were fish in a barrel, the familiars would come at us from all angles. _All_ angles.

 **Fwip.** "Woah!" The white patch of 'ground' Sayaka had stepped on turned out to be alive and not ground at all, as it ascended into the air and tripped her. I fired at it, but it came fast and charged at me, becoming dark ball of spikes, similar to an urchin in a kamikaze attack. One more round and it dissolved out of the air.

This labyrinth was like a maze of stairways and hallways twisting around each other. Familiars used the environment to their advantages, with ample hiding places and hidden corridors. I can't even begin to count how many Sayaka had taken out with just her bat, and she was on the low end of our numbers. It had been almost an hour of slowly gaining ground when I felt my soul gem start pulsing. Looking over at Mami, hers was too.

An empty archway was before us, and beyond it, what I knew to be a sudden drop-off into the witch's true lair.

"It seems like we've made it," I strode ahead into the long arching hall, "Madoka, Sayaka, you two should stay in this area here." Mami and the other two walked in after me. Mami nodded her approval of what I had said, and Madoka said okay, but Sayaka had decided to protest.

"What? You saw me back there! I was killing familiars left and right with just this bat! There's no way I couldn't help you two!"

Sayaka, having never encountered a witch before, could not have understood how much stronger they were than familiars, or why its best that those who aren't contracted don't get involved with them. Fortunately, Sayaka stopped dead in her tracks the moment she saw it. She went pale and started backing away slowly, taking care not to draw the beast's attention.

"That is a witch. Not just many times stronger than a familiar, but any normal human. Now, maybe you should step back. Use that 'useful bat' of yours and protect Madoka." I started walking again, and after a bit of murmuring behind me, Mami fell into step behind.

Inside of the archway beyond me, a large dome, the type made to expose plants to sunlight and keep them safe. A small arena set within the middle of the labyrinth, and within it, the terrible, hulking frame of the witch. Gertrud.


	9. Chapter 9

Jumping down into the small arena with Mami, the witch was tending to its grass, trimming it quietly with its terrible and large black scissors. Trampling its grass underfoot, we strode forward. It was the dull crunch of the well manicured lawn that brought us to its attention. Like a whip, the witch's head snapped backwards to see us, the green tendril mass spiking outwards in shock and anger at our sudden and rude intrusion.

Looking up into its revealed eye, framed with grotesque wings, I could see its anger and aggression. This witch was not here for combat, but was more than willing to defend its territory and the things within. All this information and more came in one quick flash as I was made aware of its name. Gertrud, in a distorted text that was in no language I knew of, but somehow understood. More and more scissors sprouted from the witch's back, in front of the purple butterfly wings that were much too small for effective flight.

Jumping backwards into a concrete wall as it skittered forward on insect-like legs, I drew a rifle and fired in its general direction. Mami had used her ribbons to get up high over the witch and swung around, raining bullets on it from above.

The beast roared and launched itself into the air, scissors swinging wildly in the general direction of the fleeing Mami. She didn't know it, but she had just created an amazing opening for me. One that I would have to exploit to the fullest.

"Get higher!" I shouted to her before I stopped time. As the world settled into grey and all motion stopped, I positioned myself under the witch. Though the world was tinted black and white, I could still clearly discern the swirling reds and oranges that made up the body. Dropping my rifle, it froze in the air as I took out the RPGs from my shield and brought forth what would soon be massive explosive ordnance on the creature. Or, what already was, considering time was only stopped for myself. I plucked the carbine from the air and fired a few shots before resuming time.

Mami had definitely followed my directions well, in the second she'd had to react, she had brought herself near the very top and only faced wind from the blasts. The witch was not so fortunate, and finding itself in the epicenter of the grand explosion, lost many legs as it flew back into the far wall, ragdolling through the air. With an explosive sound of its own, the wall cracked up to the ceiling as Gertrud slammed into it.

The witch seemed very dazed, and fell back down as it tried to stand, obviously not going to be moving for a while. "Wow," Mami landed next to me as I walked over to the out of commission witch, "How did you do that?" Being that time was stopped, she really wasn't able to see what I had done. Shifting the weight between my legs, I moved the rifle to the side of me away from Mami.

"... I'll explain later."

Realizing she must have already seen it earlier, I shouldered the rifle and was about to take aim at the witch when suddenly, a near swarm of white familiars burst from the ground, flying about and forming multiple living walls between us and the witch. Rifle already shouldered, I fired into the flying mass of white, but after only a few shots, the whole wall became black and spiky, every familiar turning into small dark obs.

Out from doors in the arena that hadn't been there before, the cotton ball familiars started filing out, marching slowly towards Mami and I as we picked them off and shot down their scissors. Another wave came through the doors as the black walls disappeared into dust and more familiars shot out of the ground swirling into even more walls. Bringing out an automatic rifle, I opened fire on them again and created a sizable hole between them all before they transformed again.

"Mami!" I spoke between the shots.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could try and hit the witch while I'm dealing with these guys? The next time that wall breaks would be nice!"

"Sure!"

So, she edged closer to the hole in the wall and took aim through it, but only saw black. There were more walls behind it somewhere that blocked the witch from view. Seconds after Mami pulled out, the wall disappeared, and she turned back to me.

"I could get to the witch from here now, but we'd have to split up. Think you'll be fine?"

 _Of course I will._

"Yeah, I'll be fine on my own. Besides, they can be broken through, even when they wall up." _I think._

I said all this as I sustained fire at the cotton headed familiars, when they suddenly stopped. Hearing a sound- a strange combination of sloshing and cracking- to my left. Snapping my head over, I saw the witch begin to stand, wobbling to its feet, adapting to the missing legs. I knew the familiars were just stalling, but I hadn't expected it to be this quick of a recovery for a relatively weak witch.

I walked toward the witch again, more slowly this time, as I pulled out a high caliber pistol. Fluttering into the air, It's green, tendril like hair exploded outward violently, and it revealed it's eye. Taking aim, the area around it lit up with flashes as the constantly moving green mass took the shots head on, and tangled them into the vines. In mere seconds, I had exhausted almost my entire round before it hit the cherry red mark between the wings.

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAEE!" The witch screeched in pain and fell from the air.

 _Blinded,_ I had thought smugly, _Wait... Can this thing even see when it's not attacking?_

That unnerving chain of thought was cut off as the witch landed on the ground with a crash, and flipped back up onto it's legs. Now unable to see, or at least, see clearly, the thing flailed wildly with its scissors. In the general direction of me and Mami, the black blades flew through the air and sliced, before the witch settled down. Mami began taking shots at the witch, but it didn't react at all.

I don't know how, but it must have been calling more familiars, because from the ground burst more and more of the small flying creatures. Not possessing the will to do this again, I stopped time before they formed their walls. The world settled back into gray, and my muted footsteps were the only sound being made as I wove my way between the frozen familiars.

Drawing a new gun, an old SMG with a drum barrel, I peppered the area of it's face with what would be hundreds of shots, before skittering back over to where I was before. As time unfroze, the witch cried out in agony. It was close to death now, and the attacks of it, and of it's familiars became much more aggressive and wild. Mami batted familiars away with her guns and shot in a showy flip move that spelled out pretty clearly she wanted her ability to be noticed.

That attention seeking would serve to end this battle easily and quickly, and so I carved a path to her through the familiars. The witch had been hiding behind the familiars and taking cheap shots at us from behind the living armors. Mami had an attack that would not only cut through all of the familiars and hit Gertrud, but one that would maintain that force. "The Tiro Finale".

It was quite the small effort to push her to use it. Judging by the conversation, she'd forgot she had it.

"Mami! Do you think you have anything that could finish off this witch quickly?"

"What? I don't think I... OH! Yeah! Homura, you should step back." A bit of music snuck into the back of her voice saying this, and I could tell she was excited. Launching herself into the air with magic, she called out her magic words, and the air around her exploded with light. A giant rifle musket that looked more like a pistol, aimed in the general direction of the witch by a girl smaller than it.

 **BANG.**

The shot from it was short and conclusive, with none of the expected loud ringing or aggressive bass. Mami landed to the ground as the labyrinth began to fade away.


	10. Update

Hey there. Been quite a while since the last update. More than a month, if I remember correctly. Inexcusable, I know. Luckily, I have arrived with good tidings. Or bad ones, if you don't like the story. But I'm sure we can watch this train wreck together.

THE ACTUAL UPDATE

Yeah, so basically I fucked up the story. I didn't write myself into a corner or anything, but I looked back at the first few chapters and all that I had set up, and where I was leading this story and realized that it would suck ass, and it would probably be best splitting them into different stories, which will not be worked on at the same time, which is surprisingly convenient for expanding this "Homura's Diary" series I'm trying. So, I was busy for quite some time restructuring the story and trying to get back to the roots of the project instead of my regular "play it where it lies" style bullshit.

By the end of this month, the actual chapter 10 will be out, and this story won't be as unfocused, and maybe I'll actually be able to stick to one attitude and style beyond "past-tense" words. None of this wouldn't have happened if I had the capacity to concentrate, so I sadly can't blame other people for my shitty thing being shitty.

Thanks to everyone who proofread chapters 1 and 9, because I wouldn't have been able to get a foot off the ground without it.


	11. Chapter 10

Okay, so I was going to publish this on the 31, but on the day of, I remembered the Saturday upload schedule, and decided that I should just wait it out. Thank you all for being so patient, and for reading my garbage in the first place. And don't worry. We're only getting started.

It wasn't all that surprising that Sayaka was pretty fired up after the fight. Even after backing down from the witch, her wounded pride couldn't stop her from looking down over the battle and sending threats down to the occupied familiars. Madoka had watched from a respectable distance, but she focused more on the positive dialogues.

"Yeah, take that, you-" The admonition of currently indeterminate feelings was cut short as the Labyrinth melted away, and Sayaka found herself in the same T area of the hallway as me and Mami. Behind her, Madoka sidled up to the group. "So... are all witches like that?"

The walk back to Mami's was fairly short. With a surprisingly young day, and clear skies, and an excess of tea and cakes to make, Mami suggested we all head back to her place. A short discussion yielded no reasons to refuse, and so our trek back across town began in earnest. Light conversation drifted in the air around me, but for the duration of the walk, I didn't speak unless spoken to. "Hey, Homura, what do you think?"

Mostly because I wasn't listening. Uncommon though it was, I couldn't pay attention or focus very well on the conversation. Something had been bothering me for a while after the fight. "Where's Kyuubey?" The cabbit hadn't appeared in quite some time, and it wasn't like him to miss out on a hunt. Even less likely that he would ever get lost. Like he always knows where you are. Could he track soul gems?

"What?" almost unanimous, they were confused by the sudden question. I couldn't explain to them why Kyuubey being away is an even bigger problem than him being here, or why Kyuubey is a problem at all, so I settled for the next best thing.

"Well, I haven't seen him at all today, and I'm worried about him." I cast my eyes down and etched a frown even deeper into my face.

"Oh, Homura," Mami rested a hand on my shoulder, " Don't worry. Kyuubey's a tough one, I'm sure he'll be fine one day without us."

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Sayaka stepped in, "How much trouble could he even get into in a day?" _How much trouble is he getting us into, actually._

"Maybe he's still at Mami's place?" Madoka threw in her two cents. All of them trying to comfort me? Maybe I should have felt guilty for the deceit, but all I could think of at the time was how I deserved an Oscar. Not bad for my acting debut, but the set could have used some improvement.

"I didn't know you cared so much." Beamed straight into my mind, the speak of the devil. "Wha-" I turned, and right down the street, I saw the rat padding towards us. Deciding now might not be the best time to drop the act, I walked out to meet it. "Kyuubey! Where were you?" I said out loud. I picked him up and embraced it, where I could talk without being heard.

"Where the hell have you been? We just took down a witch."

'I know.'

"And why weren't you there?"

'Am I to be your keeper? I have no responsibility to oversee you.'

Being implicit in the contract, the one who drafted it, he definitely was responsible. But I could hold him to the line later, because just before I could squeeze in another "Where the hell were you?", the others got here.

"-pretty excited. Hey Kyuubey." Mami got over first and offered to take it from my hands. In no position to refuse, I handed over the rat, and the walk continued as normal.

It wasn't that much of a walk back from the labyrinth to Mami's house. As it was, she lived on the way from the school. There was still a good bit of light out as we arrived at the Mitakihouse complex, so we knew we could at least stay a while. And besides, it's always nice to rest your legs a bit after a walk. A quick look to the sky told me there was no threat of rain anytime soon, and in peace we sidled up the stairwell.

Almost as soon as the maisonette door shut behind me, however, the sky out the window darkened. Moments after I locked it, a sheet of rain crashed onto the glass, and without even looking, I could tell all the unfortunate people walking the peaceful roads outside had been blindsided completely. Weather as it was moments ago, no sane man would be carrying an umbrella.

And no sane man either, could have predicted this. But that's not to say this was beyond the realm of possibility. "What the-" Sayaka cut herself off, opting instead to stare out the window at the dark clouds churning murder. "What's happening?" Mami emerged from the kitchen, where she had been preparing to start everyone some tea.

"It just started raining," Madoka offered. "It came out of nowhere."

"Oh my. Do you girls plan on waiting it out here? I've got a few umbrellas by the door you could borrow, if you've got to be home." Mami sat down at a couch across from the triangle table, and Sayaka turned from the window. "I'll do whatever Madoka's doing, I guess." She moved to sit at the couch with Mami.

"Oh. I'll call my mom, then." While Madoka talked, I took some time to think.

 _Storms don't develop that fast. Not without warning. Between opening and locking the door- six seconds max. If it took only that time for the clouds to turn and then bring rain-_ "Hey, Homura. Do you want a ride out of here with me and Sayaka? My Mom said she can take you home, no problem."

Correction, I tried to take some time to think. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. My mom said she'd like to meet you, actually."

"Oh. Uhh" and then I tried to find an excuse not to come with. "Sure, Madoka, thanks for offering." Obviously, I'd failed. Mami stood up, now everything was settled, and went back into the kitchen. For the meantime, she was making tea. I sat down and turned on the TV. The weather station, it seemed, couldn't explain this either. Disheveled newswomen without makeup and reporters with mussed hair gave rushed analysis about the sudden storm that's caught the city off guard.

"No current meteorological reports are in for how this storm developed so fast without anyone noticing; and the team found no systems developing near enough here to have gotten here this quickly! We do not know the scope of this storm, or how long it will last! Everyone should, for the time being, stay in-" The reporter's message was drowned out as a high-pitched shriek came from the kitchen. The tea was ready. And the news had ended.

 _That's fine. I always think better with some tea._ Mami stepped out with a small tray, perched with a kettle and 4 teacups. Immaculately painted china inside and out, with a firm golden handle affixed to one side, this set must have been expensive. I'd heard online that the more you spent the better it tasted. Obviously, not. I swallowed down the rubbish tea in one miserable gulp, thanked Mami, and asked if she had any water. If she knew I didn't like it, it didn't show.

"Homura," Madoka called out to me quietly, "My mom is here."

We made our goodbyes to Mami, and left. If that bothered her too, there was no telling. Maybe they'll need to hand out two Grammys.


	12. Chapter 11

The car ride was, as expected of Junko, extremely pleasant. She had asked questions, but never pressed, and readily took no for an answer. An amazing hostess, after many years of business meetings and office politics. Even Mami paled in comparison.

The first question, of course, was my address. Simple, and simply provided. I settled back into the lush seat and prattled the strangely long street name. Luckily, Junko seemed to be familiar with that part of town. The second, equally obvious; how do I know her daughter. Equally simple; I transferred in this Monday, and we share classes.

In short order, I was home, acquainted with Junko, and less wet than I had expected to be by this time. All in all, I didn't do bad. But damned if I couldn't - wouldn't do better. Not bad wouldn't save Madoka. Not bad wouldn't break the loop.

A constant reminder to myself, of what I was aiming for, of my lines in the sand. The rules of the race, I once called it, though I can't recall ever particularly liking to race. I don't know where my thoughts go, when creating names, or remembering events. Hazy, nostalgic, or deluded. But once again, this wouldn't save Madoka either.

I don't, I can't, and I won't let her down. Not this time. _Or next time_.

I smacked myself.

 _There can't be a next time. There_ won't be _a next time_. The truth of this scenario dawned on me, a warped, angry reality. "That's what I had said last time!" Like a fire at the base of my being, my anger rose. "Next time!" I smacked myself again. "Next time!" Then I hit the wall instead. "Next!" Hitting things doesn't blow off very much steam. I smashed my head to the wall. That did the trick. "I need... I need to sit down."

 _I'm thinking about saving Madoka now, I just spent half my day doing nothing. A witch I could have killed on my own. Wasting time trying to make friends. But friends are invaluable. But I can make friends later. All this worrying. But no thinking. This is what's going to bring me to the_ "next time!" I had said the last part out loud. "Okay. I need a plan... Does the computer still work?"

The hard drive had been replaced after a shameful act, that which shall not be named, but I hadn't tried cutting it on since. If it didn't work, well... I still had a phone.

The computer worked fine, after a bit of setup. Now running a version of Linux I can't quite remember, I could easily access Microsoft Word, and-

Okay maybe not Word.

So, fresh Libre Writer in hand, I began to concoct a magnificent plan. A beautiful plan, a magnum opus to rival the works of the absent Gods. Possibly the best of my life. And what was the masterwork?

"Modus Operandi

Stop Time

Catch The Train To Kamihama – More Weapons

Come Back, Kill Sweets Witch (with mami? Trust building exercise)

Take Weekend To Prepare C4 Well; Canons

Get Kyoko"

That's as far as I remembered my loose guidelines, but it lines up with what I thought was important. And for a while, that was "the plan". And with a plan set, all I had to do was follow it. As long as there was nothing I was forgetting, at least; and there was something tugging at the back of my mind for the past week.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Famous last words. _Okay. There's no way I'll let this rest. I don't need sleep to operate anyway. It helps your brain organize? I'm pretty sure my brain doesn't do anything anymore._

If ever there were a rebuttal to rival the quality of my plan, that would be it. If I intended to win here; do or die.

 _And back_

 _Down the path_

 _Through memory_

 _Lane_

 _Well worn_

 _By sodden feet_

 _With shield_

 _In hand_

 _I take_

 _My stand_

 _And march_

 _Down the street_

That might not be the exact poem I made. I still like this one though. Am I most creative when I don't have the chemicals needed to operate? Whatever; my mystery detail was now clear. Sanae. Sanae Orihara.

 _HOW had I forgotten?_

 _This big a change, in any timeline... And the power outage! Employee mistake? My ass. There is no way something major isn't happening here, hasn't already happened here. It hasn't been a full week and this could cost me the entire timeline! The plan?! I'll need to scrap it all; how could I store an entire Kyoko in one house, when I've got surveillance? When I'm being surveilled. Surveyed._

"Fuck..." this timeline would need a _lot_ of work to work. The revelation of my foolishness to think that anything might occur as normal, or as close to normal as things got in timelines, had excited my mind. There would be no sleep tonight. The poem I wrote didn't fully express my panic. But being lost in the sameness of things that should never happen happening... It was good enough to put my mind to, and calm me down.

As it would happen, being calm wouldn't help much.

Hey hey hey, party people; what's hip hop hap'nin. It's ya boi, Neiroe,

or as some friends call me, "you should probably finish that chapter".

I'm apologizing again for leaving you all high and dry. I'm trying to get

better about updating more constantly and consistently. The schedule

is still once every two weeks (on a saturday) there were a few hiccups

to getting this done, the first of which being that I didn't get to write

at all during February for reasons out of my control. The second was

I just didn't feel very much like writing any more. But now I am in

OVERDRIVE. You know what that means?!

Neither do I.


	13. Chapter 12

"What the _fuck_ did you do?" I jammed the revolver barrel all the way inside it's mouth, and released it from my hand. The white body hung limp from the barrel. "You know I'll shoot."

 _And you know that it won't do anything. I can come back as often as I need to. I thought we had already covered this, Homura Akemi._ His shrill voice echoed in my head, and I cocked the hammer. "I'm asking for the last time. How did you start the storm?"

 _It's simple... I didn't._

"Not directly; I get that part. Who did?"

 _I don't know._

I pulled the trigger. Gore erupted from the back of it's head, and the limp form spasmed with the energy. I dumped the body off the barrel, and sat on the bench. I was at the park, when I met Kyuubey. It spent more time there than I expected, and it was a reliable place for impromptu interrogations. Not during the day, if it could be afforded.

The soft pit pat of the creature's paws were unmistakable. "Kyuubey. And not a moment too soon. I've got some questions for you."

 _Then it seems counterproductive that you'd shoot me._ It bent down over the heap of white fur at my feet, and cannibalized. "Whatever. How do you not know who did it? It was obviously of a magical origin."

 _I wasn't there._

I cocked the hammer back again. Then I slowly let the hammer back, and unloaded the gun. Killing him was quite fun for the time, but wasting ammo and time wouldn't do me any closer to my goal. "Alright. Where were you before the storm.?"

 _With you._

"And what were you doing before that," I reloaded the revolver as I spoke. That might be the only way I can get through this sane. His response was simple: _I was speaking with the central incubator intelligence._

I rested one leg over the other and put the gun in my lap. "About what?"

 _Am I at liberty to tell?_

"I don't see why you wouldn't be."

 _Of course I am. But that doesn't mean I have to-_

BLAM!

His head exploded. My patience had worn thin. Visceral. But it was done. I stretched languidly, and settled to wait for his return.

The soft pit pat of the creature's paws were unmistakable. "Kyuubey. And not a moment too soon. I've got some questions for you."

 _Once, a human philosopher said: To repeat the same actions and expect a different result is the definition of insanity._

Oh.

His words hit me like a train; like a train with a poison barb duct taped onto the front. An impact and a stinging, spreading pain through my heart. I could see my soul gem shine in the periphery. Burning white hot with anger at the audacity, at the temerity of this creature to be so disgustingly right, and so wrong at the same time.

How fucking dare he.

That was my last thought before I felt my hand enter a vice grip on the revolver. I blacked out. When I could see again, there was no incubator on the ground in front of me. A brutalized pile of white fur.

The barrel of the revolver was covered in blood and white fur, and the grip had a spiderweb of deep splinters running around it's lacquered form.

"Well," I thought, "Guess the interviews over... Insanity?... Did I really just black out?"

There was no excuse for what had just happened. I had lost control. A simple remark got to me this much? Unnatural. Confusing and terrifying. This, I could not allow.

I took some time to ponder. Introspection is no forte of mine, but if I was going to make myself into a dangerous variable of sorts... A problem that needed to be nipped in the bud.


	14. Chapter 13

That dream bothered me greatly. Usually, I didn't dream. I had confronted Kyubey on this once. Magical Girls don't have dreams often. When they did, it was because they were in a time of great physical turmoil, but that there are many different kinds of factors. One of them, magic. He made sure to tell me that they were not premonitions.

Suffice it to say my first thought was that I had a premonition.

 _I would... I would never black out like that. Would I? I just did, but... Not yet. Kyuubey might need to hear about this. I could leave out killing him. That style of interrogation sounds fun, but... completely impractical. Incubators don't stay dead; they can't be intimidated._

 _It's not like it's already happened. I know what I wouldn't do, why I wouldn't do it. Why did it still happen then? When did it still happen? Did it still happen?_

 _All right. I can't keep talking in circles and confusing myself. Thinking in circles. Whatever, I need to get down to what I know. I'll make a list._

I don't have dreams. I hadn't dreamt since I'd contracted, barring a few minor exceptions.

The minor exceptions were: Daydreams. Being knocked out. Severe hallucinations due to sleep deprivation.

Possible causes: Physicall turmoil. Magic. Kyuubey.

One option can be ruled out.

First is Kyuubey. _It can get into the house. It can get into any house; I don't know how. God knows I've tried to keep him out. It out. Magical interference, that falls under the Kyuubey category, actually. I know all of the Magical Girls in this city. Oriko can do no such thing, and she doesn't even live here. That leaves turmoil. That's just my life. It's all turmoil. But it's mostly emotional. I'd be having dreams a lot more often if it were that easy._

 _If I want to really narrow it down, have the other girls had anything like this? I wouldn't say we're friends, but Mami trusts me. Even if she wouldn't confess out of the blue, if I asked, she'd tell me about something as simple as a weird dream. Would the dream still be from my perspective?_

 _Today's a school day anyway. This should be fine. Kyuubey and Mami in one place._

Classes went by quickly. Nothing was different; I already knew the problems. The main event, lunch was wedged between two small time classes that didn't really matter. The rooftop was nearly vacant, save for the usual suspects; there were a few stragglers, but most of them were already leaving. The high fences and stone architecture weren't very welcoming. Madoka, Sayaka, there were already on the roof, enjoying their lunch. Mami was eating lunch on the observatory on the other side of the building, in clear view of the other two. Kyuubey was on Madoka's shoulder, feeding her lies of some variety. Or so I'd assume.

"Hello Madoka, Sayaka," I strode towards their square in the center of the clearing, "Can I eat with you today?" Sayaka opened her mouth to say something, but Madoka cut her off before she could say anything.

"Of course you can, Homura! Mami's here too, kind of," she pointed over to the observatory. Mami smiled and waved back. Sayaka rolled her eyes and added a "Hey." to the discussion. Kyuubey said hi, and I sat down and started on my lunch while Mami patched herself in to my mind. Kyuubey said we'd have a "private channel".

"Hello, Homura."

"Mami."

"I will spare you the pleasantries. Have you experienced anything out of the ordinary recently?"

"Last night was... not what I'm used to."

"So it's happened to you as well?"

"Very strange. Magical girls don't dream."

"No... No, they don't, not under normal circumstances, at least."

"And these circumstances seem normal enough. That you've dreamt too simply confirms it."

"You have a theory?"

"No, I wouldn't call it a theory. What it confirms is that there are forces operating beyond our knowledge. It's incredibly simple, and doesn't adequately explain what's happening. It could be applied in almost any situation."

"Well, it's a base. We'd need to start somewhere if we want to actually figure this out. This time, we're just starting from the bottom."

"Have you asked Kyuubey about this?"

"I told him, and he was just as confused. He said he would try and find out what he could later."

"And that's why you've come to me? To-"

Madoka dropped her bento. Onto Sayaka. Who pushed me. Off the seat. During the conversation I'd maintained with Mami, I had lost my focus. As a reward for my failure, my uneaten lunch sat next to me on the ground, overturned. "Ah, Homura! I'm so sorry!" Sayaka dropped down to help me up. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a little distracted." I let her pull me up, and smiled. "Thanks." I stooped to pick up the bento, when Mami came into my head again. "Incoming!" I turned just in time to catch the snack bar Mami had sent careening from her spot twenty or so meters away. Madoka had turned down to help me pick up the food, and missed the event. Sayaka, though, could do nothing but stare in Mami's direction. I sent a thanks in her direction, and went back to picking the bento off the ground.

"No problem. I was going to save that as a snack, but it seems like you need it a bit more." I went to the trashcan near the edge of the courtyard and looked in. A similar fate for all too many meals. Tipping the box in, I found myself thinking of Kyoko.

End Scene. Read Next Chapter for Addendum.


	15. Chapter 13 Addendum

Official apology for messing up very badly.

These chapters are only supposed to be going out on Saturdays, but at this point I don't think the schedule matters. I wasn't able to write anything in February – May, and this past summer, I reread the story and hated it. There were a lot of things that went against the original vision of it, and would mess up the story I was trying to tell through the changes I'd made through it.

I haven't updated this fic in too long to not give an explanation. BaB is on hiatus. Over the next few months, I'll be editing and rewriting the chapters of it in order to make it up to date for what the current vision of the story was. A lot of small details and big plot holes to smooth over. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter just released.

I'm sorry to everyone who liked this and was waiting for the next chapters. I've been on the other side of waiting for a fic to wrap up. It's not a very fun experience. Being the author of one such story felt pretty bad, which is why I'm finishing up this chapter, and then putting this on hold.

If you're still interested in my writing; this Saturday or next, I'll have a new PMMM fic posted, taking place before this one, and maybe soon after that, a chapter 2 will be up to continue it. I can't make any promises, because some of these things are out of my control, but I'll make sure it doesn't go down like BaB.

Signing out, Neiroe. Pronounced Nero.


End file.
